Compliance and phototherapy

When beginning a phototherapy regimen for a patient, consideration of compliance rates is important. Compliance to phototherapy can be affected by several factors, including the grade of discomfort and side effects from therapy, failure of previous therapies, accessibility and convenience to reach the phototherapy center, grade of improvement during phototherapy, patient relief due to light therapy, and rapport with staff. Understanding how these factors can affect patient adherence can allow for phototherapy regimens to be tailored in a manner that optimizes health outcomes and allows for proper patient selection.